


Still Smiling

by Dirac_Sea



Category: Coronation Street
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 20:17:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13818660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirac_Sea/pseuds/Dirac_Sea
Summary: Kate and Rana have a quiet evening together. They discuss love notes, the day of the confession, and Rana's secret.





	Still Smiling

“Seriously though, I still think it’s adorable that you kept one of those notes in your bag.”

Kate threw a cheeky comment at her girlfriend, interrupting the comfortable silence. Rana had curled up next to Kate on the sofa; both content to lean on the other, idly watching Saturday night television. Rana nudged Kate in the ribs, displeased (sort of). 

“Well you wrote it in the first place.”

“The notes are meant for immediate, one-time-only use. You should have consulted the copyright holder for permission to keep them.” Kate paused her corny joke for a moment, and considered. “You know, it was that note that led to the bistro…”

She trailed off. She still hadn’t talked about that day much with Rana. It was a subject too heavy to broach. For Kate, she didn’t want to relive the panic she’d felt when Zeedan had stormed in and grabbed Robert. She winced as she remembered the absurd notion that Zeedan might grab her next, push her against the wall… and truthfully, she couldn’t bear the pressing guilt that she hadn’t supported Rana as much as should she have on that day. Whatever painful memories Kate held, she knew that Rana’s would be so much worse… 

Only then, Kate realised, she had been holding her breath. But Rana spoke first.

“I’m surprised he found it to be honest. It was well hidden in a copy of _Brave New World_.” 

“ _Brave New World_? Mmm, I think I’ve heard of it.”

“Yeah. It’s a dystopian novel, about a world where the people are so dependent on consumerism, hedonism, and psychotherapy that they either don’t know or don’t care that their lives and thoughts are being completely controlled.”

Kate looked down at her lover, eyebrow raised. A moment’s silence before she spoke one word.

“What?”

Rana did not respond, staring at the image on the television without a word in reply. Kate felt that her girlfriend was impossibly smug in that moment.

“Well ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger. So that’s what you were doing at university... I didn’t expect a party girl like you to be so interested in a book like that. What next, a lecture on quantum mechanics?”

“Well, I suppose I’m just full of surprises, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are.” 

They exchanged a look. Kate had that grin on again. _The_ grin. Her eyes narrowed; reading the most inscrutable of souls. Her lips pursed; holding a secret only she and the devil knew.

Rana, this time, raised an eyebrow – but it was an imitation, a poor player of calm. Beneath the surface, frenzied rabbits and hares were strutting and fretting her stomach and heart and just what had she let herself in for now? That look – the irresistible force of Kate Connor. She fidgeted with her top, half-hoping she wasn’t about to devoured.

“For example… I had no idea you would enjoy being tied-“

“KATE!” 

If Rana had been reading a book then, she would have thrown it at her.

\-----

It had been a quiet night. Alya and Imran also seemed settled at this point, as Alya hadn’t returned to the flat, claiming to have forgotten something, for a few weeks now. As for Craig, he was on a night shift tonight – leaving just Kate and Rana in the flat. Though Rana had never seen a kinder soul than Craig, she guiltily had to admit that she looked forward to these evenings together. The only issue was Kate’s oft-used and always cheesy joke that she now had a nurse and a police officer in the flat, and she’d only need a firefighter to complete the set. Rana always complained that, technically, the joke was wrong and just didn’t work, because Craig was a _Police Community Support Officer_ and did Kate seriously not know the difference? Kate always ignored her.

For the past ten minutes, that hadn’t been the case. Hands and limbs had been entwined for most of them, endless kisses and possessive grabs leaving almost no time to breathe. But eventually, reluctantly, they had to pause. For now, they were content with idle petting and lingering looks.

Rana couldn’t help but contemplate their conversation earlier that evening. It had been the first time they had tried to talk about _that day_. And how _had_ Zee known to look in _Brave New World_? Unable to find an answer, she instead settled for the comfort that she was now able to think about that day and _not_ feel on the verge of tears. When Rana rose from her ruminations, she noticed Kate looking at her contemplatively, as if she had been waiting for the right moment to interject.

“Listen, Rana… I should apologise for back then. The day he found out.”

“Kate … You don’t need to.”

“No. I’m sorry. Can we talk about it?” 

“…Yeah.” They both inhaled at the same time, as if preparing for a dive into murky water. “Kate, it was my fault for not telling him sooner. I know I’d seemed so sure, and then I let you down, and then Luke… I know how upset you were… I’m sorry, Kate.”

“And I should have seen how upset you were, too. Just because you’re not as obvious as me! It’s no excuse. I didn’t support you, or Alya. I’d just felt so guilty about everything and the longer it went on, the more it had been pressing on my mind. Going to Devon didn’t help, to be honest. I ended up internalising everything rather than talking it through with you. I felt so guilty about the relationship that I ended up not even wanting to look at you.”

“ _The train driver knew the way_.” Rana chuckled. “Ouch.” Kate tried to laugh, too, but looked down and sighed. They’d come up for air, and then…

“Then there was the Sophie issue.”

“My fault. I… everything just seemed like a puzzle then. It was driving me mad. I was crazy to suggest you were interested in her. Crazy, Kate.” Rana chuckled again, smiled gently, and rubbed Kate’s arm. She could see how Kate had been struggling with this, and even now her girlfriend couldn’t hold eye contact.

“I still shouldn’t have messed her around, Rana. And then when I found out you’d told Zee, I didn’t know what to do and I ended up outing you without thinking if you were ready… When you told me I shouldn’t have done it, the guilt only got worse. I thought about you a lot, but… it was painful. You and Zee, and what I’d done… I didn’t know what to say or what to do. But I should have said _something_. Done _something_. Rana. I’m sorry.”

“Kate…” Rana kissed her and stroked Kate’s hair. “It was always going to be difficult. We were always going to make mistakes. I won’t deny it… I was hurting, and I needed you so much. But you were in such a difficult position. You could have hardly talked things through with Zee. Who could have known what to do in that situation? What’s important is that we’re here _now_. We made it through… and we’re happy.”

“Okay.” Kate sighed. The weight lifted. The murky water had washed away. She looked up at Rana.

“I love you, Rana.”

“I love you, too. My darling.” 

“I’m glad we talked about this.”

“Me too.”

They smiled into each other’s eyes, but Kate’s uncertain grin had soon twisted into that look. Rana fidgeted.

“ _Darling_. So sweet.” Kate winked. “So. Shall we continue where we left off or get straight to your secret fet-“

“Did you want to hear that lecture on quantum mechanics?”

“What, have you got a big book on that that you can hide all your little love notes in?” Rana laughed and looked down, embarrassed, and this time she was the one who couldn’t hold eye contact.

“Shut up! You really enjoy bringing up those notes, don’t you?”

“Because I can safely say that whenever you read one you melt into Rana-goo and get this dopey smile on your face. It’s just one of the things I love about you.”

Rana briefly wondered if her girlfriend had been blessed with telepathy, and then considered if such intuition was simply the result of Kate’s true love – she did not have time to consider it further, as the kissing had already continued.

\-----

Kate had left early. From her morning doze, Rana had discerned something about supplies for the bistro and short notice and meet me at lunch. Something like that… she’d text her later. Having quietly gotten changed and ready for the morning’s appointments to avoid waking Craig, Rana fished for her keys in her coat. Only, along with the familiar metal jangle, was a thin material… undoubtedly paper. She placed the keys on the kitchen worktop, picked the paper out and unfolded it.

The paper was headed ‘ _10 things I love about Rana Habeeb_ ' in Kate’s scrawled handwriting, subtitled ‘ _I’ll let you keep this one_ ’. There were more than a few kisses next to it, too. Unconsciously, Rana wet her lips, already embarrassed that her heart was beating slightly faster. She continued reading.

 _1\. How shy and fidgety you still get when I look at you like that. You know what I mean._  
  
_2\. And… that, by your own admission (on multiple occasions), you literally cannot stop thinking about me._  
  
_3\. You are so damn kissable._  
  
_4\. That you talk about the most random stuff in your sleep. Don’t deny it. I’ve watched._  
  
_5\. The indisputable fact that you do like sugar._ Next to this was a creepy winking face. Rana sighed.  
  
_6\. Your intelligence, and how eloquent and earnest you are when you talk about your interests._  
  
_7\. That beautiful smile, the fact that it’s on your face right now, and that you’ll still be smiling when you’re finished reading this._  
  
_8\. How obvious and childish you are when you’re jealous. Don’t think I’d let you get away with that one._  
  
_9\. That you are so honest with me, going right back to when you first realised your feelings to your desperate moans in the bedroom._  
  
_10\. That you really do love it when I tie-_

Rana stopped reading, folded the note up and put it back in the coat pocket. She breathed out, put her coat on, picked up the keys and left the flat.

She was still smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> Tried to write something nice for a change – feedback welcome. Hopefully this is canon one day.
> 
> Hope to add a chapter where Rana returns the favour.


End file.
